Many researchers of human migration believe that the Great Polynesian Migration occurred around 1500 BC and settlements were established in the islands around 200 BC making the islands of French Polynesia one of the last places on Earth to be settled. The islands first made it into the European consciousness during Magellan’s expedition in 1521. The islands were also visited by Dutch explorer Jakob Roggeveen in 1772, British explorer Samuel Wallis in 1767, and more famously by British explorer James Cook in 1769. For a very short period of time the islands came under the governance of the Viceroy of Peru. While under the Spanish, Christian missions were built. They were then quickly overtaken by British Protestants. Unfortunately, these religious missions did a lot of damage to the material culture of the indigenous population. They desecrated holy sites and forbid the locals from worshipping and carving wooden totems. They also established schools that prohibited students from speaking their native language in hopes of “civilizing” the local population. Thus, they greatly prevented the passing on of the Polynesian oral traditions. In 1842, France declared Tahiti and Tahuata a French protectorate. Fast forward past some conflict with the British to the 1880’s and the status of the islands was increased from being a protectorate to a colony of France. In 1946 French citizenship was extended to the people of the French Polynesian islands and their status was changed to territory. This is an obviously overly watered down history. The overall point is that many locals do not like their French governors and prefer not to call their country French Polynesia. I thought it was very interesting how the populations of the different islands really differed in regards to language. On Tahiti the people spoke French, but many still spoke their native tongue. This was not the case on touristy Bora Bora, which was more like Hawaii in the fact that the native language was forgotten long ago. One of my tour guides said that currently there is a push in Tahiti to bring the local tongue back into the elementary school curriculum.
My day in Tahiti was so fulfilling. I contacted the number one off-roading tour company on trip advisor and was picked up with five other strangers from the pier. There was a Swedish couple, an Australian couple, and a woman who worked in the art gallery on the ship. We all hit it off well and greatly enjoyed sharing the tour together. The tour guides were beyond excellent. The owners name is Teiva Tiaipoi and his email is: [email protected].
They drove us in a 4WD vehicle to the interior of the mountainous island. As we went they stopped to show us plants and to tell us stories of the island’s past. Teiva showed us how his grandfather would summon him by taking a large shell and knocking it on a hollow tree. The deep sound resonated through the forest and would be audible from a far. He said this is how the locals sent out warnings that an enemy was approaching and for the women to move to the interior. He also showed us two large flowers. The local women use the dye from the flower as lipstick and the juice from the inside of the stem as make-up remover.
As we moved farther into the interior Teiva joked that we should keep our eyes open for dinosaurs. The landscape really did look like Jurassic Park! We stopped at a nice spot for swimming and checked out a couple waterfalls and then headed to a resort high up one of the mountains for lunch. As soon as we arrived heavy rain set in and we were lucky to be undercover. Our lunch was a traditional dish made up of raw tuna, chicken, and vegetables. To be honest I couldn’t stomach the raw tuna. I like sushi and have eaten a lot of sashimi in my day, but this tuna just wasn’t going to make it to my stomach.
Fortunately, the rain lightened up and we were able to visit a very important site for the Tahitians. Teiva spoke about the migration of the Polynesian people and that some people believe the Incas were descendants of Polynesian migrants. The distances between the islands they traversed by hollowed out canoes is impressive. He showed us a very famous piece of volcanic rock brought to Tahiti from the Big Island of Hawaii by canoe. He also told us about the creation of the islands and the significance of the different Polynesian goddesses and gods.
We made it just in time to a famous black sand beach for sunset and visited the lighthouse. I expressed my desperate need for Wi-Fi and one of the guides even offered for me to come to his house. On the way back to Papeete we spent a few minutes watching the local hula dance teams prepare for a large competition. It was a perfect day that involved both exploring the outdoors and learning about the local culture. Thank you Teiva for sharing your passion and deep seeded respect for Polynesian culture with us.
My day in Tahiti was so fulfilling. I contacted the number one off-roading tour company on trip advisor and was picked up with five other strangers from the pier. There was a Swedish couple, an Australian couple, and a woman who worked in the art gallery on the ship. We all hit it off well and greatly enjoyed sharing the tour together. The tour guides were beyond excellent. The owners name is Teiva Tiaipoi and his email is: [email protected].
They drove us in a 4WD vehicle to the interior of the mountainous island. As we went they stopped to show us plants and to tell us stories of the island’s past. Teiva showed us how his grandfather would summon him by taking a large shell and knocking it on a hollow tree. The deep sound resonated through the forest and would be audible from a far. He said this is how the locals sent out warnings that an enemy was approaching and for the women to move to the interior. He also showed us two large flowers. The local women use the dye from the flower as lipstick and the juice from the inside of the stem as make-up remover.
As we moved farther into the interior Teiva joked that we should keep our eyes open for dinosaurs. The landscape really did look like Jurassic Park! We stopped at a nice spot for swimming and checked out a couple waterfalls and then headed to a resort high up one of the mountains for lunch. As soon as we arrived heavy rain set in and we were lucky to be undercover. Our lunch was a traditional dish made up of raw tuna, chicken, and vegetables. To be honest I couldn’t stomach the raw tuna. I like sushi and have eaten a lot of sashimi in my day, but this tuna just wasn’t going to make it to my stomach.
Fortunately, the rain lightened up and we were able to visit a very important site for the Tahitians. Teiva spoke about the migration of the Polynesian people and that some people believe the Incas were descendants of Polynesian migrants. The distances between the islands they traversed by hollowed out canoes is impressive. He showed us a very famous piece of volcanic rock brought to Tahiti from the Big Island of Hawaii by canoe. He also told us about the creation of the islands and the significance of the different Polynesian goddesses and gods.
We made it just in time to a famous black sand beach for sunset and visited the lighthouse. I expressed my desperate need for Wi-Fi and one of the guides even offered for me to come to his house. On the way back to Papeete we spent a few minutes watching the local hula dance teams prepare for a large competition. It was a perfect day that involved both exploring the outdoors and learning about the local culture. Thank you Teiva for sharing your passion and deep seeded respect for Polynesian culture with us.
